editing short films

I'm going to kick off this exciting topic by using a few examples in one of my new favourite short films "The Tea Chronicles" written and directed by Charlie McDonnell and Khyan Mansley, two YouTubers whom I love dearly.

To start off, let's look at how this film used different angles to reveal something. Within the first 12 seconds we see Charlie drinking his tea, then a different angle (accompanied by a deep piano sound) to scarily reveal the other ominous character, Khyan. The way Khyan is introduced implies that he is a threat. The cut back to Charlie's shocked face assures this.
Because we don't see Khyan's face initially makes us not only question who he is, but even what he is. For all we know he's a monster.
The back and forth shots between the pairs faces, which gradually get closer, builds tension, especially when combined with the screechy sound. These quick cuts also push up the tempo, making the moment more nail-biting.

At around 0:44 in this film, we have an example of how a cut-away can be used to show an object that's relevant to the dialogue at the current time.
In this case, it's a cut-away to reveal Charlie's very small "unicycle collection".
Without this cut-away, the conversation would be boring and unfunny. Because we wouldn't see the "collection" without it, we wouldn't understand how what was being said would be funny. But because there is a cut-away, to what is clearly not a "collection", as Charlie states, we can laugh at it because it provides us with the information we need to make the situation comical.

In the film on the right, "Touch" (directed by Nimer Rashed), we see "the life of a couple told through the touching of hands". This is a good example of how past events, in this case memories, can be shown. In mostly chronological order, with the exception of some cut backs to the person remembering (probably to remind the audience these are flashbacks), the story of a couple is told.
Using different clips in that almost chronological order, the editor has created a story. This shows, with minimal dialogue, how a story can be told through editing. The fragments of scenes give us just enough to piece together a story, which in this case is relatively emotional. At least it kind of has a happy ending.

Tick Tock by Ien Chi, apart from being a fantastic short film which only uses one shot, really shows the power of reversed footage. Yes, it's cool, but it also makes it harder for the audience to understand what's happening, hereby making them think about it more. A powerful tool. I'm really considering using reversed footage in the film me, Chloe and Rachel are making. Even if it's just to take the audience back to a key moment, then play it again, from somebody else's point of view, revealing a different part of the story.

This film also utilizes colours to reflect the emotion at the time. I starts (or finishes) highly saturated, reflecting happiness and then finishes (or starts) desaturated. Crazy.  Also, did you know this film is still awesome, even when it's played normally? (Without being reversed)

I've mention reverse motion, let's talk about slow motion. Slow motion can be used to really, really strengthen key moments. By slowing down the action, it gives audiences the time they need to observe what's going on.

Take the film on the right for example. LOVE DIGITAL, directed by Jesse Ashe, uses lots of slow motion. There's lots of combat in this film. When fighting, especially the punches are slowed down. This makes for a cool-action-like feel. It allows us to appreciate the moment more.

Though it's more of a tacky special effect, this film does use one bit of sped-up footage, in which the protagonist rapidly charges at the final boss. I can't really think of another effective way to use sped-up footage. Maybe a tiny bit to make action scenes slightly faster, if the actor isn't quick enough. But otherwise I think it's a no-go for me.

LOVE DIGITAL also uses special FX, a more advanced part of editing. These don't actually add to the narrative or story, it's just visually pleasing and makes it more interesting. The little glitch-like parts make the film more game-like and the neon glasses and super punch make the ten-year-old in me happy. But as exciting as those were, if I'm honest, I think I could match and beat the level of FX used in this film, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Oh, and there's obviously techniques like cross-fades and lap-dissolves to indicate the passing of time between two clips. But they're kind of dull.

-BW